Karnataka to sponsor 25 stalls for start-ups at Bengaluru expo

Bengaluru, Sep 6 (IANS) The Karnataka government will sponsor 25 start-ups to showcase their products and services at the ‘India Gadgetz Expo’ (IGE 2016) in this tech hub from October 5-7 to promote the start-ups ecosystem.

“The Information Technology and Biotech Department as well as the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keonics) will sponsor 25 stalls at the consumer technology exhibition to encourage registered start-ups to display their products and services,” IGE founder Sanjeev Kumar said in a statement on Tuesday.

Keonics was set up in 1976 to promote the growth of the electronics industry in the state with sectoral and academia participation.

The National Small Industries Cooperation will also sponsor 15 stalls under the marketing assistance scheme to showcase technologies and innovations and promote the ecosystem for start-ups.

To be held at the state-run Karnataka Trade Promotion Organisation at Whitefield in the city’s eastern IT corridor, the expo will also deliberate on Digital India, smart cities and start-ups.

The panel discussions on innovative technologies and futuristic products will dominate the thematic conferences.

Diverse topics such as new-age marketing, vehicle technology, gaming, consumer tech marketing, device start-ups, trends in wearables and women leaders in the field will be taken up during the expo.

“The demand for consumer technology is growing, with metros accounting for a major chunk of consumption, while non-metros and tier-2 and tier-3 markets are far behind,” asserted Kumar.

The government’s pro-active initiatives such as Digital India, smart cities and Make in India will spur local manufacturing and strengthen the consumer technology industry.

The event will see participation by global firms, including Oppo, Intex, Creative and Epson and brand launches by some of them.